(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lifestyle collecting apparatus that collects information indicating a lifestyle of a user, and to a user interface device that provides the user with a function based on the lifestyle of the user that is judged from the collected information.
(2) Description of the Related Art
With the increase in size and reduction in thickness of displays, the displays are experiencing further evolution, such as a display integrated into a wall or a display fit into a wall or a living space. However, the mere physical integration of displays into walls is not sufficient. For the integration, the contents to be displayed on such displays need to be fit into the walls or living spaces.
Meanwhile, each person has a diverse value and a diverse lifestyle. In addition, people of course have different lifestyles, and the lifestyle of the same individual is being changed in daily life. However, the conventional devices, such as a conventional television, have been developed with little consideration of the diversity and the temporal changes in the lifestyle of each individual.
In contrast, the lifestyle of a person can be guessed by others on a daily basis, from the appearance, behavior, and possession of the person. For example, a salesclerk of an apparel shop guesses the lifestyle of a customer from his/her hairstyle, makeup, and clothes, and recommends the clothes that fit the guessed lifestyle, that is, the clothes that the customer seemingly likes. Even when a person visits someone who does not have a business relationship with the person, the person can feel the lifestyle of the resident from the atmosphere of the entrance and rooms.
There are two ways of manually obtaining such a lifestyle, namely, guessing it by surrounding people and reporting it by the user. However, manually determining the lifestyle is troublesome, and when the lifestyle is reported by the user, the attribute noticed not by the user but by people around the user cannot be collected.
In addition, the apparatus and method for automatically judging the lifestyle is not well known. One of the examples of the lifestyle is found in preference. Most of the apparatuses and methods for automatically estimating one's preference are based on explicit actions, such as viewing records, and movement and shopping by the user (for example, see Patent Reference 1, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-191702).